Special receptacle or package – Shock protection type – With distinct corner or edge protector
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-02
2001-07-10
Gehman, Byron P. (Department: 3728)
Special receptacle or package
Shock protection type
With distinct corner or edge protector
C206S320000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06257412
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a cushioning material for packaging. More specifically, it relates to a cushioning material for packaging suitable for packing an article having a hexahedral or cubic shape, such as a notebook type personal computer or image scanner, into a case (chest) such as a corrugated cardboard case or the like, with each of opposing ends of the article inserted in and supported by the cushioning material.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
Recently, cushioning materials or spacers for packaging, made of a reusable sheet such as corrugated cardboard sheet or the like, have been proposed as substitutes for cushioning materials of styrene foam, which cannot be recycled or reused and adversely affect the life environment when discarded, as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application laid-open No. H4-267769.
The cushioning material disclosed in the aforementioned Patent Application is constructed so as to support and protect the corners of an article when packed in a case, and every part thereof is composed of stacked (layered) corrugated cardboard.
When every part of a cushioning material is composed of stacked corrugated cardboard like this, the structure becomes simple but the bulk density (weight per unit volume) thereof increases and the cost becomes high.
To solve these problems, a cushioning material for packaging which uses a square cylindrical hollow body made of corrugated cardboard has been proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application laid-open No. H8-58842.
The cushioning material for packaging described in the above-mentioned Official Gazette Publication consists of a hollow body
6
having a square cross section, as shown in
FIGS. 85 and 86
, where parallel cuts
60
,
61
are formed on both side portions so as to intersect at right angle with one edge of the body and a cut portion is formed on the edge between these cuts
60
,
61
so as to form a plurality of symmetrical recesses
62
and protrusions
63
. On two sides of the body
6
sandwiching the edge, flaps
66
,
67
are made by forming folding lines
64
,
66
extending between the ends of the cuts
60
,
61
and a recess portion
60
a
is formed by folding the flaps
66
,
67
inside and interlocking the aforementioned recesses
62
and protrusions
63
with each other.
The subject article is packed into a case with opposing edges of the article guided and supported by the recess portion
60
a
of this cushioning material.
Alternatively, as shown in
FIG. 86
, a pair of the bodies
6
,
6
are united so that the recesses
60
a
,
60
a
are arranged in parallel to form a grooved recess
60
a
,
60
a
. The edges of the article
4
are guided and supported by the recess
60
a
,
60
a
and in this state the article
4
is packed in a case (not shown in FIG.
86
).
Although the cushioning material for packaging disclosed in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application laid-open No. H8-58842 has a small bulk density as a whole and a simple structure, since it mainly consists of the hollow body
6
, it has the following problems.
First, since the body has a square cross section and only a single hollow, it is liable to deform until a part of the article
4
is put into the recess
60
a
and packed in a case, which restricts movement of each body
6
. This makes packaging difficult when the article
4
is packed into the case together with the cushioning material.
A second problem is that the bottom flaps
67
are weak, since, in the state shown in
FIG. 86
, the side of each bottom flap
67
,
67
is connected to the side wall flap
66
,
66
only by interlocking of a plurality of recess-protrusion portions
62
,
63
and the weight of the article rests mainly on a central leg portion
68
of the bottom of the groove. Accordingly, only a very light article can be packaged.
DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION
An object of this invention is to provide a cushioning material for packaging which is composed of recyclable and foldable sheets as a whole, has a hollow structure and relatively small bulk density, and is not likely to deform before the cushioning material is mounted on an article and packed into a case.
Another object of this invention is to provide a cushioning material for packaging which can be used for an article that is somewhat heavy.
Yet another object of this invention is to provide a cushioning material for packaging which can be fabricated by a mechanical means.
To attain these objects, the cushioning material for packaging according to this invention is constructed as follows.
Specifically, a cushioning material for packaging according to a first aspect of the present invention comprises;
a grooved retainer
1
having a raised bottom
10
and two side walls
11
,
11
, in which a part of an article
4
having a hexahedral or rectangular shape is inserted,
at least a pair of end support members
2
,
2
arranged so as to close the opposite ends of the grooved retainer
1
,
wherein each end support member
2
has a plurality of hollow portions
20
arranged in parallel along a certain direction and consists of a hollow body having a square cross section orthogonal to the longitudinal dimension of the hollow portions
20
, and the raised bottom
10
, the side walls
11
,
11
and the end support members
2
are formed by folding a recyclable and foldable sheet a such as a corrugate cardboard, cardboard or the like.
A cushioning material for packaging according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the cushioning material for packaging of the first aspect, each component composing the raised bottom
10
, the side walls
11
,
11
and the end support members
2
is continuous to at least one adjacent component and a whole body is formed continuously by folding a sheet a of a predetermined flat shape along valley forming folding lines a
1
and ridge forming folding lines a
2
formed thereon.
A cushioning material for packaging according to a third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the cushioning material for packaging of the second aspect, each end support member
2
is provided with a partition sheet
23
which is inclined relative to the surrounding wall and divides the hollow interior of each end support members
2
into two (2) hollow portions
20
.
A cushioning material for packaging according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the cushioning material for packaging of the third aspect, each hollow portion
20
of the end support member
2
has a triangular section.
A cushioning material for packaging according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the cushioning material for packaging of the fourth aspect, the lower portion of each end support member
2
is continuous to the corresponding end of the raised bottom
10
and each side wall
11
is continuous to the corresponding side of the raised bottom
10
.
A cushioning material for packaging according to sixth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the cushioning material for packaging of the fourth aspect, each side wall
11
is continuous to the corresponding side of the raised bottom
10
, one of the end support members
2
is continuous to the corresponding end of one of the side walls and the other end support member
2
is continuous to the corresponding end of either of the side walls.
A cushioning material for packaging according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the cushioning material for packaging of the fourth aspect, the lower portion of each end support member
2
is continuous to the corresponding end of the raised bottom
10
, one end of one of the side walls
11
is continuous to the corresponding end of one of the end support members
2
and one end of the other side wall
11
is continuous to the corresponding end of either of the end support members
2
.
A cushioning material for packaging according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the cushioning material fo
Yamamoto Masahiro
Yokoyama Yoshimasa
Gehman Byron P.
Hitachi Zosen Corporation
Lorusso & Loud
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